Wales’ First Minister has sparked fury over a pub and restaurant tax hike, which has been described as the “final nail in the coffin” to the already struggling industry.
Business rates for the hospitality sector will increase as part of Mark Drakeford’s plan to direct more money into Wales’ faltering health service.
In a draft budget published today, the Welsh government said the NHS would see an extra £450million come its way.
To cover this additional money, business rate reliefs for pubs, shops and restaurants will be cut from 75 per cent to 40 per cent.
In a draft budget published today, the Welsh government said the NHS would see an extra £450million come its way.
PA
In comparison, England’s remains at 70 per cent.
Explaining the decision to prioritise frontline services, Finance Minister Rebecca Evans, said: “We have had to take some really difficult decisions to radically redesign our spending plans to focus funding on the services which matter most to the people of Wales.
“After 13 years of austerity, a botched Brexit deal, and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, this is the toughest financial situation Wales has faced since the start of devolution. Our funding settlement, which comes largely from the UK government, is not enough to reflect the extreme pressures Wales faces.
“We have been presented with the most stark and painful budget choices in the devolution era. We have reshaped departmental spending plans so that we can invest more in the NHS and protect core local government funding for schools, social care and the other services we rely on every day,” she said.
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The Welsh government said the discount, which was brought in to help struggling businesses during the pandemic, was “never intended to continue indefinitely”.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies' David Phillips said the budget “clearly prioritises core NHS services- making very tough choices across a range of other services”.
The Welsh Independent Restaurant Collective cautioned that the move could be a “final nail in the coffin for many independent businesses”.
Art and culture organisations as well as Sport Wales will see their funding slashed by around 10 per cent.
Economy minister Vaughan Gething, who has his hat in the ring to be the next First Minister, slammed the moved, blaming the Westminster Government specifically.
Business rate reliefs for pubs, shops and restaurants will be cut from 75 per cent to 40 per cent
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Money will instead be poured into the NHS
PAHe wrote on social media: “Tory chaos has shrunk the Welsh budget, creating a £1.3bn shortfall.
“That‘s 3 times the size of our economy budget. Not a penny of promised EU replacement funds has been provided for this budget.
“Crashing the economy and ploughing cash into Tory seats has consequences.”
Gething also pinpointed some of the blame on Westminster: “While the UK government has not provided Wales with a funding settlement that recognises the impact of inflation, we have made changes to our spending plans and targeted investment towards the public services we all value the most.”
